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One of the DIY sites said a dielectric is unnecessary. I guess that is why I always just see copper attached directly to the nipples. The nipples that come out of the unit are lined (blue plastic). I guess I can do it all in copper including the nipples.

The plastic liner in the nipples is not dielectric, its the dip tube.

What you should do is just hook the damned thing up whatever way you want to and stop asking questions, because like quite a few of you diy'ers, you really don't like the answers you get anyway. Can you do a water heater yourself? Sure, why not? What's the worst thing that could happen? Hell, it's just you and the family in the house. Quit fudging and step up to the plate man. Get R Done!

How about changing the brakes on my car? Is that considered trickier? I would consider that more dangerous than a water heater.

You didnt ask about brakes you are putting a bomb in your house or a <gasp> customer's house you asked us about that. and because you didnt put down your occupation we havent a clue whether or not you can do either!

I don't know about in Texas, but you have to pull a permit to install a water heater here. There is good reason for that. I personally would not change my own brakes. I feel there is a time to draw the line and go to a professional.

People are trying to help you by letting you know this project is not a basic simple one and perhaps you are in over your head. It is not personal.

Comment

Do a little history on this section of the forum. We usually give pages of advice except for generally specific 2 items-drain cleaning and water heaters. It's not because these are the 2 money makers we want to ourselves but because we don't want anyone to get hurt. You wanted another site to ask questions and I gave you one. Why not let them answer your questions if your dissatisfied with your treatment here? One thing that has always bothered me is that when I ask an expert for advice and they give it to me, I listen. If I didn't want to follow their advice, I would've looked elsewhere. You (and others) ask for advice but because it defies your logic you can't just listen to what we're saying. We're not talking out the side of our neck here. We're giving good advice whether you want to believe that or not.

We had one of our own fellow plumber's ask us a medical question. Did we tell him BS? No, we told him to go see a doctor to receive proper treatment. You're no different. If we think our advice might cause more harm than good, we'll let you know.

I went to your forum and my question was answered in less than 5 minutes. Why was everyone telling me to put dielectric unions when most water heaters come with dielectric nipples? I understand the reasoning behind saying not giving advice that could potentially hurt someone, but I wasn't making reference to electrical hook ups. I was asking simple questions about connections and drain pan. If my house floods and causes damage, that is my problem and my lesson to learn. There isn't any instance of danger though. I called my utility and they said no expansion tank is required. A T&P came with the water heater and will be terminated correctly. Other than the electrical, what could possibly go wrong other than water damage. I not asking how to do brain surgery here. Thank you for the site by the way. It has a wealth of information.

I went to your forum and my question was answered in less than 5 minutes. Why was everyone telling me to put dielectric unions when most water heaters come with dielectric nipples? I understand the reasoning behind saying not giving advice that could potentially hurt someone, but I wasn't making reference to electrical hook ups. I was asking simple questions about connections and drain pan. If my house floods and causes damage, that is my problem and my lesson to learn. There isn't any instance of danger though. I called my utility and they said no expansion tank is required. A T&P came with the water heater and will be terminated correctly. Other than the electrical, what could possibly go wrong other than water damage. I not asking how to do brain surgery here. Thank you for the site by the way. It has a wealth of information.

What you should do is just hook the damned thing up whatever way you want to and stop asking questions, because like quite a few of you diy'ers, you really don't like the answers you get anyway. Can you do a water heater yourself? Sure, why not? What's the worst thing that could happen? Hell, it's just you and the family in the house. Quit fudging and step up to the plate man. Get R Done!

Actually, that is incorrect. New water heaters come with a dielectric nipple already installed. It might also couple as a heat trap or dip stick, but it is also a dielectric nipple. You can google it if you want. I will also call Rheem to verify.

I went to your forum and my question was answered in less than 5 minutes. Why was everyone telling me to put dielectric unions when most water heaters come with dielectric nipples? I understand the reasoning behind saying not giving advice that could potentially hurt someone, but I wasn't making reference to electrical hook ups. I was asking simple questions about connections and drain pan. If my house floods and causes damage, that is my problem and my lesson to learn. There isn't any instance of danger though. I called my utility and they said no expansion tank is required. A T&P came with the water heater and will be terminated correctly. Other than the electrical, what could possibly go wrong other than water damage. I not asking how to do brain surgery here. Thank you for the site by the way. It has a wealth of information.